Flash Forward
by Cyrrer
Summary: On October 6th, the whole world blacked out for three minutes and seventeen seconds. Some people claim they saw the future. AU, fused into the Flash Forward Universe. John/Rodney
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Flash Forward  
**Fandom:** SGA (fused into the Flash Forward Universe)  
**Pairing:** John/Rodney  
**Disclaimer:** If it were mine, there would be no Keller.  
**Warnings**: au, angst, romance  
**Rating:** PG-16  
**Spoilers:** None I can think of  
**Beta:** koryou and zannabq you are the best *huggs*  
**Wordcount:** 1847  
**A/N:** This is an AU. I took SGA changed it a bit and settled it into the Flash Forward Universe. You do not need to know Flash Forward to enjoy this story.

**Summary:** On October 6th, the whole world blacked out for three minutes and seventeen seconds.  
Some people claim they saw the future.

* * *

_Rodney's hands __were shaking; the disturbing noises of the fight creeping closer and closer. And it didn't help that the count down on display before him reached a threatening level. Only a few seconds left before the point of no return. _

"_She__pard, do you copy?" Once again only static was answering him. Rodney felt nauseous, he knew on an intellectually level that he had to start the jumper soon, but he couldn't bring himself to really believe that he had to do it. "Fuck, John!" he swore._

_Only to hear barely a few nanoseconds later how the Colonel was running into the Jumper with a frustrating cry. He almost slammed his hand onto the handheld for the hatch. "McKay, get us out of here!" _

_The jumper screen showed that several impacts by energy weapons hit the shields, but none of them was of threatening level. "On the way, Colonel!" Rodney replied. He concentrated his thoughts, asking the Jumper to start and fly out of this hellhole. __He accelerated as much as possible. __While the hits by the energy beams decreased – thanks to the cloaking device – it was imminently clear that the enemy was about to close their hangar and trap them inside._

"_Faster, McKay!"_

"_You don't need to remind me!" Rodney grumbled. "I'm going as fast as the ship can! But be my guest and take over if you think your stupid gene will get more out of the engine!" Not that Sheppard would do it. Even with the fast reaction of the Jumpers it would cost a second or so if they switched the controls now. A second they might not have. And with this thought they escaped through the closing airlock._

"_Wow that was good. Now get us away from here. The bomb's gonna explode in 20 seconds." _

"_So everything went fine with placing the bomb?" Rodney asked over his shoulder. He gave Sheppard a once over to make sure he wasn't injured. His handsome features were overshadowed by the stress of the mission, there was some blood on his cheek and his hair was in even greater disarray than normal, but otherwise he seemed to be alright. _

"_If you could call it fine that I ran into __three of the fuckers and had to fight them in hand to hand combat," was the laconic response. _

"_Oh, that's why you were so late," replied Rodney with humor in his voice that he honestly didn't feel. Sheppard was standing beside him now and he really looked like he had been to hell and back. He truly had this 'big damn hero' routine working for him._

"_Rodney could you please try to fly this Jumper in a straight line to get us as far away of the explosion as possible? Or are you physically incapable of doing so?"_

"_For the record, they are shooting at us and I'm trying not to get hit." Rodney would never – even if his life depended on it – admit that he might have a little problem keeping the Jumper in a straight line. But this truly had to be a problem of the ship, not his. Most probably it needed an overhaul by Radek. _

"_But we are cloaked!"_

"_And?" Rodne__y really wasn't in the mood for their usual banter. The last hour had been too taxing._

_In that moment two things happened almost simultaneously. The countdown reached a red zero and Sheppard swore, "Take this, assholes."_

_On the screen Rodney could see the warship blowing up in a big blaze. Even after all the time it still felt wrong for him hearing no sound of the explosion. He knew that this was physically correct, but decades of watching Science Fiction movies had taught him differently. _

_With morbid fascination Rodney followed the resulting energy wave on the screen. It came closer and closer and then it hit the Jumper. Nothing happened. "Huh," Rodney commented._

"_Initial dampers are made of win, aren't they buddy." Suddenly John seemed rather relaxed, as if the weight of the world had fallen from his shoulders. Knowing too well that it was more like the weight of the whole fucking galaxy Rodney did the only thing that came to his mind. He grabbed John's shoulder and squeezed it gently. "Yes they are."_

"_John! Rodney__! Do you copy?" Elizabeth's voice filled the little ship. They had kept total communication silence during the mission between Atlantis and them, but after the explosion their leader was free to contact them again._

_Sheppard activated his earpiece. "Yes Elizabeth. Everything went according to plan. We blew them to hell__ and back."_

_Rodney could hear background cheering. The last hour must have been taxing for those on Atlant__is too. "Aye lads, I hope you two are both well," a voice filled with sympathy and a thick Scottish accent came through the com._

"_We are fine," assured Sheppard._

_Rodney rolled his eyes. "Carson, knowing the Colonel's definition of fine, you better have a gurney ready in the jumper bay. He had some close encounters with the enemy."_

_John wanted to protest, but before he could even open his mouth Carson already answered, "Will do, lad."_

"_Gentlemen, see you in a few minutes. Weir out."_

_Rodney stared at the screen. Instead of a threatening war ship, a decreasing countdown or thousands of other dangerous things it only showed space. __Blinking stars and the bluish green surface of their new home planet. Atlantis came into sight. The beautiful Ancient city was down there and Rodney couldn't wait to get back. Over his mental link he asked the Jumper to go into autopilot. _

_Only then did he realize that it was over. They had won, and they had survived. "Huh!" He almost felt like shaking again. Must be the adrenalin leaving his body. Maybe he should have told Carson to prepare two gurneys._

_Suddenly he felt a reassuring body pressed up to him from behind. Familiar arms circled his upper body and a chin nestled on his shoulder. "You did good Rodney."_

_Rodney inhaled deeply, trying to draw strength out of the close contact. "Oh god John, when you didn't answer my calls, I feared that I had to leave without you."_

"_Shh, it's over. You did good. Everything went according to plan."_

_Rodney's hands grabbed John's and held them as tight as he could. "I'm not sure that I would have done, though. I mean, leaving you behind." _

_John started to shake. "God no. Rodney. I would never want you to sacrifice yourself for me. You're the best thing that ever happened to us. The others need you. Atlantis needs you. And I think I love you. So please don't take stupid risks."_

_The words washed over Rodney, chasing away the stress of the mission, leaving only the love he found since he came to Atlantis. __"I won't if you promise the same."_

"_Rodney…"_

* * *

With a disoriented groan Rodney came back to his senses. He was lying on the Floor of his kitchen and had no recollection how he got there. Something heavy lay on his tights and suddenly Rodney realized that it was one of his dining table chairs.

What happened? The not knowing confused Rodney to no end. Had there been an earthquake? Not that his hometown was a known epicenter. But who knew, seismology might not be a soft science such as anthropology but it was still only barely more than playing with rocks. Rodney clearly suspected that they used divining rods to figure out where the next earthquake would happen.

Rodney shook his head, trying to get his confused thoughts straight. He felt dizzy, almost like after one of his anaphylactic shocks. Panic started, but he kept it at bay. His breathing was steady, maybe a bit on the shaky side, but still he couldn't feel any of the tell tale signs that his airway was closing off.

With more effort than expected Rodney shoved the chair away and stood up. He glanced around his kitchen. Everything was as it should be, as he was remembering it. Then he realized something strange. The microwave oven had stopped. But he had put the dish inside only moments ago. And he remembered setting the clock to 5 minutes. It just had started, how could it be finished already?

Fuck, did he fall and lose his consciousness? Did he hit his head? How long had he been lying on the floor? With shaking fingers Rodney grabbed his phone, fully intending to call 911. If he lost minutes, who could tell what happened to his valuable brain in the meantime? Maybe he had had problems to breath during his unconsciousness? That would explain why he felt so dizzy. And without proper oxygen he could have lost thousands of brain cells. Mind you he had more to spare than the rest of the population, but still better save than sorry.

While he dialed the emergency number Rodney anticipated what Jeannie would say to his accident. She would claim that it served him right for living alone. Oh god, not another lengthy speech that he should find someone to cohabitate with. Or to start living with her and Madison. As much as he loved both, it would drive him mad in five days tops. Three if Madison had friends over. He was a bachelor and he loved the peace and quiet.

Rodney realized that he did not get a line. What the hell…? The emergency number should always work! There were laws to secure that, the telephone companies had to make sure of it! Rodney frowned deeply as he dialed again.

But no success this time either. Rodney's head felt heavy and a big headache was starting to form. With a sudden fit of dizziness he had to keep himself steady by holding onto the sink and his gaze wandered out of the kitchen window. Strangely enough, there were several spots over the city skyline were he could see smoke. And he could swear that he heard sirens in the distance.

Rodney tried hard to make sense out of everything, while he dialed again. At least this time he got the busy tone. The emergency lines were busy, and there was smoke over the city. Maybe his first thought of an earthquake hadn't been that wrong.

While he was pondering this strange notion he had a sudden flash in front of his inner eye. He could see the inside of a very weird grayish room, in front of him was a strange city on top of a green ocean and strong arms were holding him. "I think I love you," said a voice, which Rodney would have sworn he had never heard before. And still he knew this voice with every fiber of his heart. It was John's.

The sudden sense of loss almost overwhelmed Rodney. He had to grab the sink tighter while his stomach revolted. He'd never felt so sick and lost before.

* * *

On October 6th, the whole world blacked out for three minutes and seventeen seconds.

Some people claim they saw the future.


	2. Chapter 2

**Title: **Flash Forward 2/16  
**Fandom: **SGA (fused into the Flash Forward Universe)  
**Pairing: **John/Rodney  
**Disclaimer: **If it were mine, there would be no Keller.  
**Warnings: **au, angst, romance  
**Rating: **R (mostly for Rodney's foul mouth)  
**Spoilers: **None I can think of  
**Beta: ****koryou** and **zannabq** you are the best *huggs*  
**Wordcount: **3065  
**A/N: **This is an AU. I took SGA changed it a bit and settled it into the Flash Forward Universe. You do not need to know Flash Forward to enjoy this story.

* * *

"China? You've got to be kidding me! Which stupid moron did hire you and allow you to open your mouth in front of cameras?" Rodney was blistering with righteous anger. If idiocy could hurt the guy on TV surely would scream in agony, but so it only hurt Rodney's brain.

"What's the matter?" Jeannie came back into the kitchen and looked bewildered at her brother.

"What's the matter?" Rodney went into full rant mode. "I'm tortured, that's the matter. First of all, I have to endure forced labor…"

"Hey," his sister laughed. "You want mashed potatoes; you've got to peel them. That's the deal."

"I'm a certified genius. I'm not meant to do this… this… this stuff!" Rodney looked down at the mess he'd made out of the potatoes. Most probably it was for the best that they were to end mashed later anyhow.

Jeannie looked at him with mock disdain. "You wouldn't want to give Madison the wrong impression that slacking is ok, would you?"

"No, but…".

"Mer, I love to have you over here and I'm gladly feeding you your favorite food. But you have to pull your weight too. Those are the rules." She looked rather stern while saying this in her best mother-voice.

Rodney knew when he was beaten. He could argue for the sake of the principle but on the other hand there were mashed potatoes. Grumbling he took the next one and started to peel again.

The slave driver – aka his sister - laughed again. "And what's the other thing that has gotten you in full rant mode?"

"Hah!" snorted Rodney. "You'll not believe the level of stupidity. This waste of oxygen over there somehow got assigned to speak for the CIA to the congressional investigation committee, and you guess whom he accuses of being responsible for the blackout!?! China! What did they do to come to this conclusion? Reading a fortune cookie backwards?" Thinking about this made Rodney very glad that his plans to move to the US hadn't worked out. He would be ashamed – and even more furious – if his tax money would be used to finance such nonsense.

"Well the impact of the blackout was considerably less in China than it was for the western world."

Rodney's hands – still holding a potato and the knife – were waving again. "That's because the blackout happened during the middle of the fucking night for the countries on that part of the world! And not all of them are even communists. Or hell-bent on destroying the American way of life." Rodney's hands waving air-quotations. "If this is the only proof they have to claim that China is responsible then they are even more stupid than I would have given them credit for. But what do you expect from an organization which has nothing better to do than scare a young child that only wanted to win the science fair!" Rodney was radiating righteous anger.

Jeannie made a deep suffering sigh. "It was a working model, Mer."

"But I didn't have plutonium, now did I? I was only twelve! What gave them the right to interrogate me? In Canada! Fuckers!"

His sister rolled her eyes. "Ok, I'll get it. You and the CIA will never be best pals. But does that mean that they are wrong with this assessment too?"

Rodney couldn't believe this question. Was Jeannie trying to give him a stroke? "Yes, because it's not an assessment!" blustered Rodney. "It's just blaming the bad guy of the month! There was no evidence brought up from them to the committee that supported their ham-fisted statement. Looking into a crystal ball has more scientific value than that. And for the record, it wouldn't surprise me at all if this whole blackout had somehow been caused by them. And this is just a failing attempt to shift the blame."

"You do realize that sometimes you sound like one of those crazy world conspiracy guys. Next thing you will wear a hat made out of aluminum so that the bad CIA cannot read your thoughts." Jeannie laughed.

"Don't be ridiculous!" Rodney snorted. Finally fed up with the situation he let go of the knife and tried to reach the remote.

"No, leave this on. I want to listen to the program!" his sister protested.

"Did your brain just commit suicide or why do want to listen to this utter bullshit?" Rodney was honestly bewildered.

Jeannie sat down beside him, taking the remote protectively into her hands. "I'm curious if they will say something about the flashes."

At once Rodney felt a chill down his spine. A now familiar mix of emotions tried to bring him down and he wouldn't allow that. Or this stupid discussion. "What's to say about that? We lost consciousness and the lack of oxygen caused some hallucinations. That's all it was," he said coolly.

Of course Jeannie didn't get the hint or she had a natural immunity to the wrath of a McKay. "Come on Mer, that's an even worse explanation than the 'China' one. You really believe that almost seventy percent of the population got vivid hallucinations – which by the way felt absolute real and not even remotely dreamlike – due to the lack of oxygen?"

Rodney's lips were pressed to a thin line. "Yes. What else could it be?"

Now it was Jeannie who was waving her hands around. "I don't know? Why not flashes of our future as most people believe?"

"Most people are idiots! And that is the most stupid thing I've ever heard."

"Why are you so against this idea? If it really were only hallucinations, why did so many people see the exact same point of time? Everyone who had a kind of time identification in their flash saw the same day and the same hour. Do you have any theory that explains why they all saw the 19th September next year? Ten months in the future?"

Rodney's hands waved Jeannie's idea away in disgust. "Bah! That's mass hysteria, nothing more! Someone started to say it was that specific day and time and voila the whole world followed suit. Did it not sound crazy to you that so many people could actually identify the day?"

Jeannie frowned "Well the main news start at that hour. Lots of people were watching it. And the date is always shown in the background."

"No! Proof! At! All!" Rodney's potato hand underlined every word with a gesture. "The mass hysteria theory is more likely. Or did you see a date in your flash?"

His Sister shook her head. "No, but I was just standing in my bedroom looking at a picture. How should I get a specific date out of that?"

"See! There's no proof at all. This whole idea of the hallucinations being flashes from the future is ridiculous."

"But they come true!" Jeannie never knew when to admit defeat and stop a discussion.

Rodney's voice did reach a level of cold he himself wouldn't have thought possible. "They cannot come true! Anyone claiming that is a fucking liar! Also it's still 10 months until this stupid date, so how could anyone claim for their flashes to be true?"

As usual his sister did not back down. "But there is already proof Rodney! We do not need to wait for ten more months to see that the paths are starting."

Rodney's hands were waving around in disgust "That's all made up by the TV producers. Last year it was sending celebrities to rehab, now it's 'My Great Flash Forward Came True'. It's disgusting!"

"Don't be such an ass. And don't treat me like I'm stupid and the TV can manipulate me. I'm speaking about real people and real proof. Just take Sofie from accounting. She saw herself in our office in Toronto. Obviously being in charge there. She told me that she would never have considered even applying for that job. But now she did and guess what, yesterday was the announcement that she got it!"

"Bah! Most probably she saw the job offer before and was subconsciously thinking about this when the blackout happened. And because she believed she would get the job, she had the necessary confidence during the interview to get it. Does 'self fulfilling prophecy' ring a bell, Jeannie? Psychology is nothing more than mind-voodoo, but they do get some things right." At least sometimes.

"And what about cousin Jake and his ex-wife Sarah? In their flash they were back together and they just started dating again."

"Come on? That's your proof? Those idiots have been on and off for the last 5 years. That they start dating again now does not mean that they will still be together when this imaginary day is here. Odds are they will separate in 5 weeks top."

Jeannie shook her head again. "No, they really do want to make it work this time. They even go to counseling. They did see something beautiful in their flash and they want to make it come true. Why are you such an asshole, talking everything down?"

"Because it's idiocy! It gives people false hope! And I can't believe that people with more than one functioning brain cell go and change their life just because of this hallucinations. You are all acting like lemmings and do not even recognize how stupid this is." Rodney almost felt nausea again. Thinking about the flash always got to him.

"And what is with my flash, Rodney? Why do you think I did see what I saw?"

Rodney laid down the potato and the knife, taking a deep sigh before answering. "That's psychology 101 Jeannie. Nothing more. You saw yourself holding a picture which showed you as a bride and a man you don't even know as the groom. Do I really have to spell it out for you?"

Jeannie closed her eyes for a moment, and Rodney hated himself a bit to cause her pain. "So you think my flash showed me being married because I'm still not over Kaleb?"

Rodney really hated to talk about these kinds of things, but it seemed inevitable. "I'm not implying that you are one of those women that only have one goal in life – being married. Quite the contrary. But the fucking bastard hurt you a lot and it's ok to want something better, something normal. Even if you are way too smart to just be a wife and mother."

"Wow, that was almost a compliment. And quite sweet actually. Just keep this up and your street cred as an Ogre will be gone in no time." Contrary to her words Jeannie was smiling.

"I just wished I could change what happened then, Jeannie," was his honest response.

She took his hands into hers and squeezed them tightly. "You did good. You left your high fly career plans behind and came back here to support me through the first years. And I don't mean only the money. You were the best brother one could wish for and the best uncle ever. Madison is not missing her dad one bit."

As usual Rodney was not good at receiving praise for being a nice person; it simply was not something he felt comfortable with. "I only did what was the right thing to do, Jeannie. And some people even think I could have done more. A real good brother most probably had taken a gun and forced the asshole to the altar."

Jeannie snorted. "As if I would have married that spineless coward anyhow. It's for the best that he ran away. Can you imagine me, married to an English Major? Living in Suburbia? I would have gone mad. I like my life as it is now. With Madison, my work and you. So no, there are no hidden subconscious longings in me to be married to a tall, dark and mysterious stranger."

"If that's true, why did you kick out 'what's his name' after the flash?"

Jeannie rolled her eyes. "Dave and I were going nowhere fast. The flash just showed me how much time I was wasting with him. I know that there is someone else for me out there. Even if it turns out that it's not the guy I saw in my flash. But life is too short to settle for second best. That's what I got from the flash."

"So why hooking up with the moron in the first place?"

"Duh! Because he was good in the sack," was the nonchalant answer.

Rodney sputtered. "Jeannie, I don't need to know that! TMI!"

"Don't be such a prude. Anyhow let's not get sidetracked here. You still haven't told me why you are so hell-bent against the idea that the flashes are glimpses of the future?"

Rodney swallowed hard. "It can't be the future Jeannie. It's impossible."

Honest bewilderment showed in Jeannie's face. "I don't believe you talking like that. You were never so dismissive of a new idea just because it's unorthodox. This is just not you. And as long as you don't give me a valid reason, I'll believe in these flashes. It gave me hope and I will not allow you to destroy it."

"But it's false hope!" Rodney's voice was filled with venom.

Jeannie squeezed his hands tight. "Mer, what's going on? Talk to me." Her eyes were searching his, trying to see every secret he was hiding. "Did your flash show you something bad? Or, or didn't you have one?"

"Jeannie," Rodney tried to protest.

"Oh my god you didn't have one!" Jeannie was worried. "But that doesn't mean anything. All those people who fear that not having a flash will mean they will be dead at the date – that's stupid and you know it. Don't you worry. Nothing will happen to you."

It was Jeannie's obvious distress that finally broke Rodney's wall. He never wanted to speak about his flash but seeing Jeannie coming to the wrong conclusions was worse than talking about the stupid flash. That would hurt him more. And suddenly Rodney couldn't stop to talk. "No, no! You got it wrong. I had a flash. So please don't worry. But Jeannie, I know for a fact that these flashes are not the future. They can't be!"

"Why not?"

"Because I was sitting in a fucking spacecraft! And I don't mean a NASA model. And I was fighting bad Aliens. Just like the most ridiculous Science Fiction show you can imagine. That is not my future, that's more like a childhood dream. So now you know that these flashes don't come true!"

Jeannie was shocked at his outrage. Her arm went around his shoulders hugging him tightly. But instead of stopping the painful discussion she poked deeper. "Mer, that's not all. I see that you are deeply hurt. Tell me everything. Maybe I can help?"

Rodney doubted that very much. But parts of his secret were in the open now and maybe it was best to get everything out. And so he started to tell his sister about the impossible flash. He didn't leave out anything. And the funny part was it actually felt good to speak about this. Ok, so maybe not really good, but he felt a heavy weight taken from his chest.

Jeannie listened with rapt fascination, not even cutting in once. "And then I woke up. So tell me Jeannie, how likely is it that I'll be out in space, saving planets in just one year? How likely is it that there will be this perfect guy who'll be in love with me? This is so absurd that I'm reconsidering my intellect. My subconscious shouldn't be that stupid."

"Why shouldn't there be a nice guy in your future?"

"Hello? You know me, don't you? Rodney the Ogre? John… the guy, he was gorgeous and a god damn hero. Guys like him will only say 'I love you' to me if I'll pay them to. Can we please agree that it was a hallucination created by my own stupidity and lack of oxygen?"

Jeannie shook her head. "No! I agree that what you saw sounds pretty unlikely."

"Hah!" interrupted Rodney.

But Jeannie just went on, "Nevertheless, let's for a second just forget about the surroundings. Maybe they are not so important. Or maybe you and him were in a kind of holographic game simulation. I don't know. But I do know that you would only be stupid if you dismiss the flash just because it's so unlikely. Focus on the important things."

"Which would be?"

"The feelings. Did you listen to what you just described, Mer? It wasn't just this guy saying these words. You felt the same. Have you ever felt the same before?"

Rodney shut his eyes for a second. "No. And that's why it's so impossible."

"Quite the contrary. I think this proves that it will come true. How could you have a hallucination like this? And why shouldn't there be a nice guy liking you? You are an acquired taste, I'll give you that. You rush in and stomp where angels fear to treat. And people who only see your shell are thinking you are the greatest asshole on the whole planet. But people who are brave enough to look beneath the bluster see a nice guy loyal to the bone. So don't give me this self-pitying crap that there will never be someone who loves you!"

"Ah…" Rodney started, not really knowing what to answer to that.

Jeannie just went on, "It's your decision Mer. You can either deny this possible future or take a leap of faith. You have nothing to lose and so much to gain."

"Don't you see how much it's hurting me already? What will happen when I start to believe in this now, only to find out that it was a hallucination?"

Jeannie brought her right arm in front of his eyes. "Do you see the red scar beneath my wrist? I got it last week when I was touching the electric iron. Madison had used it and not switched it off. I didn't know that. And guess what, I saw this exact scar in my flash. They do show our future! What you saw will happen. You'll find this guy!"

Slowly hope was spreading inside of Rodney. Maybe his sister was right. Maybe it was possible. Maybe the flash was showing his future?


End file.
